So other than Dead Island what other games does Deep Silver publish? I was wondering about that a week ago. The publisher is owned by Koch Media, a German company not the billionaire brothers of the same name. The company… Continue Reading →

I looked over their list of titles, and one caught my interest — Winter Stars.This isn’t a game about killing the undead nor is it as big and all-consuming as Techland’s island adventure. It’s a Kinect title developed by 49Games and anything that uses the Microsoft’s sensor intrigues me.

But from the outset, the game looks fairly conventional. There are 11 winter sports to play through: bobsledding, the biathlon, figure skating, downhill skiing, a snowboard cross, curling, speed skating, ski jumping, para skiing, ski-doo and ski alpine freeride. Yeah, that’s a lot of ski-type activities.

A STORY STRAIGHT FROM THE 1980s: Despite that drawback, the single-player campaign has a light story-element going for it. Winter Stars won’t just put you through a series of random sports. 49Games worked on crafting a story reminiscent of those old ’80s movies. Players take on the role of members of the titular Winter Stars team, and they’ll compete against rival organizations at tournaments around the globe.

The team is lead by Jake Otis, a winter athlete who is recovering from a major accident. His team is struggling and they have to win these competitions and earn money to keep the Winter Stars team going. As with any group, there are smaller dramas and relationships here and there and players get to see that unfold between tournaments. Be warned though, the voice acting is pretty marginal. I’m talking about a Chuck Norris level of acting.

In addition, there’s also an RPG element where players level up team members who specialize in certain sports. Moving up a level means that players get to pick a perk from a list. They could gain longer boosts or other abilities that are tailored toward their event.

BOBSLEDDING IS COOL RUNNINGS: As for the gameplay, it does a good job of mimicking the sports they represent. In bobsledding, I had to run in place as though I were pushing the sled. I crouched to get in and I was off. To steer down the course, I had to lean left and right. If I bumped up against the wall, I could push off it by shoving my arm out. For a boost, I could thrust my arms forward (It’s a gesture that’s shared with other sports in the game.) but I could only do it occassionally. I had to wait for it to recharge every once in a while.

In the bobsled race, you can see the other competitors as ghosts because you can’t race at the same time for obvious reasons. The ghost racers give you an idea of how far behind you are compared with other competitors.

YES, THE BIATHLON EXISTS: The other event I played through is biathlaon. It’s mix of — I’m not lying here — cross-country skiing and shooting. This is a real Olympic event that’s been going on for more than 75 years. You swing your arms just like you’re skiing. When you get to a hill, you have to run in place to traverse up it. Eventually, you’ll reach a shooting range. Your character automatically moves into position and you have to aim with your right arm and raise your left arm up you fire by letting your left arm go down.

You have to shoot at the targets five times. Each miss penalizes you in terms of time. Winter Stars automatically slows you down after you come out of the range. During the first lap of the biathlon, the shooting is done prone. On the second lap, it’s standing up.

As with any Kinect game, your arms are going to get tired. But you can always rest after the event, where you can watch a replay of what you just did.

SNOWBOARDING VERSUS MODE: The final mode I checked out was snowboard cross, which was a two-player mode. I raced against the PR person guiding me through the game. From what I played, it does a decent job of making you feel like you’re zooming down a mountainside.

The controls are a little wonky, but the playing field was even because we both had to deal with the control issues. Snowboard cross has the boost ability which is also in the biathlon and bobsledding races, but in addition, there are also items that players can pick up. Much like Mario Kart, you can toss items at competitors to throw them off their game.

It adds a dose of arcade fun to what would otherwise be a bland mode. There are also ramps and shortcuts that players will have to look for. Doing tricks while high in midair also lets players recharge their boost faster.

Overall, Winter Stars looks like it’s shaping up to be a decent title. It’s probably not going to be something everyone is going to run out and buy when it’s released at the end of November but certainly seems solid if you’re a fan of winter sports.